The Lone Warrior's Absolution
by The-Lost-Samurai
Summary: All Lazuli saw that night was a flash of blue, before he was in the wind. When he returned, she could only wonder why he was so closed off. But every now and then, she'd catch glimpses of him when his guard was down. What she saw worried her. He was a noble guardian, a silent protector, and above all, a man in pain. A lone warrior, seeking absolution.
1. Back From the Dystopian Apocalypse

Summary: All she saw that night was a flash of blue, before he was in the wind. When he returned, she could only wonder why he was so closed off. But every now and then, she'd catch glimpses of him when his guard was down. What she saw worried her. He was a noble guardian, a silent protector, and above all, a man in pain. A lone warrior, seeking absolution.

I thought of this idea just recently. I'm not quite sure how long this story will be. I suppose it depends on its reception. I've never really seen a fic like this in the Dragonball archive, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball GT, or Dragonball Super. Since this disclaimer is kind of long, I'll just post it once and have faith that you'll all remember.

* * *

Chapter 1: Back From the Dystopian Apocalypse

The first time she caught sight of him, she wondered if he'd even been there. She was on her way back to the trailer they'd stolen after leaving to collect her thoughts. She'd been annoyed with her brother for some reason she couldn't quite recall now. All of his petty grievances blended together after a while, leaving her to often forget what she was angry about these days. It didn't help that she hated this way of life. She was a city girl. She had been before they were orphaned, and she always would be. And yet here she was, living in a trailer with her twin brother, who somehow found it in himself to enjoy the lifestyle that she so abhorred.

She knew she shouldn't complain. They couldn't afford to live in the city. She was lucky her brother was as resourceful as he was. She knew that. That didn't stop her from growing more and more irritable with every passing week. She sighed. She should apologize to her brother for snapping at him earlier. He was just being himself, trying to make the best of their situation. None of this was his fault.

So here she was, wandering back through the woods towards the trailer in the dead of night. If she were any other girl, this situation might unease her. But she didn't frighten easily. Although she'd prefer not to run into a bear, she knew she could take care of herself should the situation arise. Nevertheless, she quickened her pace.

That was when she saw him. Passing by a grouping of dense foliage, the slightest movement caught her eye. She turned to find a young man standing beside a tree, his hand resting against the trunk, and his eyes staring right into hers. It was hard to see his features through the darkness, but he could just make out a pair of calm, blue eyes, and a flash of hair the same color.

She immediately stiffened. While she knew she could handle herself, she recognized the situation as an unfavorable one should this random passerby turn out to be hostile. And in her experience, most people were.

"Who are you?" she asked. "Do you want something?"

The young man's only response was to tilt his head to the side as he continued to observe her. She grew slightly annoyed at his lack of an answer. She was about to ask again, but she stopped as she noticed the look that manifested in his eyes. His blue orbs shown with a sadness beyond her comprehension as he continued to stare at her unnervingly. Before she could even begin to puzzle out this reaction, he was gone. She blinked, having not seen a single trace of movement. One second he was there, and the next...it was as if he'd never even been there to begin with. Shaking her head, she mumbled something about needing sleep and continued her walk back to the trailer.

* * *

It was nearly a week before she ran into him again. This time, she knew she wasn't imagining things. She had just woken up and exited their mobile home, groaning with discontent (she wasn't a morning person), when her brother's voice startled her to full lucidity.

"Sis, we've got company," Lapis said, without even turning his head to look at her. Curious, Lazuli followed his gaze up to a nearby tree, and sure enough, a familiar mess of blue hair could be recognized. The man was sitting on a branch, arms crossed and one leg hanging off into the air.

She narrowed her eyes. "You again?"

Her brother looked at her curiously. "You know this guy?"

"Not really. But he seems to know us."

"That's a bit creepy," he said bluntly.

Although he had yet to say anything, the two twins thought they saw a flash of what looked to be embarrassment on his face, before any trace of it was gone.

"Mind coming down from there, friend?" her brother requested with a smirk. "I promise we don't bite."

To her surprise, the stranger obliged, hopping down from the branch in one quick motion and landing effortlessly on the ground. It was a bit unnerving that his eyes never left them.

"What do you want from us?" she asked, getting to the point. There had to be a reason why this guy was stalking them.

For the first time, he opened his mouth, and three words came out. "You're in danger."

The simple statement puzzled the two. Either this guy knew something they didn't, or he had no idea what he was talking about.

"I appreciate the concern, but I doubt that," Lapis replied, waving his hand dismissively. "The two of us can handle anything life throws at us."

The kid was silent, but it wasn't difficult to surmise that he disagreed. While her brother frowned at the lack of an answer, Lazuli rolled her eyes. Lapis liked to think there was no one who could challenge them. It was an easy conclusion to come to, not to mention a comforting one. They were getting stronger every day, and the tricks they'd learned recently were pretty useful. Still, she couldn't help but think back to that day a month ago. Two hostile aliens had quite literally fallen from the sky, before effortlessly leveling an entire city. Later in the day, they had made quick work of the World Government's army, as if it was child's play. Lazuli knew that she and her brother were strong, but she wasn't so arrogant as to believe they'd stand a chance against forces like that. The world had suddenly gotten so much bigger.

It wasn't long before Lazuli was broken out of her musings. The kid's eyes shifted away from the two siblings as he stared off into the distance, beyond the trees, as if looking for something. His posture straightened, and his fists suddenly clenched.

"Hey, what's with you?" Lapis asked. "You're a pretty weird guy. Do you always act like this? You still haven't told us who you are, you know? And what are you staring at?"

His question was soon answered as a wind picked up in the small clearing. The twins both turned their heads and saw a figure _floating_ in the air above them. It was an old man with long white hair and a scowl etched on his face. The old man surveyed the two of them before his eyes drifted towards the blue haired kid standing across from them, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, subjects 17 and 18, we finally meet. And it seems you have company," the old man chuckled.

The two teens stared at him, one in bemusement and one the other in wariness.

"And another weirdo shows up," Lapis said with narrowed eyes. "Who the hell are you old man, and did you really just call us subjects? Get out of here before you get hurt."

The old man merely laughed again, making Lazuli's skin crawl for some reason. "Not to worry. You'll catch my meaning soon enough," he said, before he disappeared from their sight.

What happened next, the two twins could barely follow. The old man was standing a few inches away from Lapis, one hand extended out in a chop that had never reached him. Lapis and Lazuli watched with wide eyes as the old man's hand was held firmly in the bluehead's grip. He was giving the old man a heated glare as the latter struggled in vain to free his hand, before the appendage was swiftly and roughly detached from the rest of his arm. The old man jumped back and stared in shock, as the siblings did the same, albeit for different reasons. Where they would have expected to see blood and veins, instead the severed arm dripped oil from a jumble of disconnected wires.

Lapis' eyes were wide. "What the hell _is_ he?"

Lazuli was deathly silent.

"Who–who are you?" the old man mumbled, staring at his new adversary in fear.

The man smirked in response. "You mean you don't remember me? I paid your other _subjects_ a little visit just the other week." He spoke the word "subjects" with disgust. If possible, the old man's eyes widened further.

"You! You're the one who destroyed my lab!" he shouted angrily.

"Hope I didn't set you back too far," the man replied with an air of insincerity.

The old man suddenly calmed as he glared at the one who had interfered with his plans. "It matters not. I don't know how you found my lab, but it can be rebuilt once I acquire 17 and 18. Once they've been built, no one will stand in my way, especially not punks like you who don't know what they're up again—!"

The old man was cut off as the bluehead suddenly appeared in front of him, with one arm shoved _through_ his chest cavity. The old man coughed as his internal organs and components alike failed him. The man swiftly removed his arm, causing the old man to clutch as his chest, before he ripped off the man's head, which landed in front of the two siblings, still screaming in pain.

Lapis stared at the live head blankly. "I was not ready for today."

"I don't think either of us were," Lazuli replied, her voice trembling slightly.

The man proceeded to send an energy blast at the severed head, causing it to erupt in smoke.

There was silence in the clearing as the two twins absorbed what had just occurred.

"Ok, no really, what the hell is going on here?" Lapis asked. "Who the hell _was_ that guy?"

The blueheaded man turned towards the two, causing them both to stiffen. For a moment he gave them both an intense stare, before a sad smile broke out across his face.

"That was Dr. Gero. Mad scientist, wanted to take over the world and all that. You know the story," he said.

Lapis raised an eyebrow, relaxing slightly now that the man had started speaking like a normal person rather than standing there and staring as if he was deciding their fates.

"Yeah, maybe from some dystopian apocalypse movie," he replied, not knowing how close to home his words struck as the bluehead held in a wince. Dystopian apocalypse. Well, that was his life wasn't it?

"That doesn't explain what Dr. Doom wanted with the two of us," Lazuli said, bringing the conversation back on track.

The bluehead looked saddened. "I'm not sure you want to know."

Lazuli's eyes narrowed. "I think we do. We appreciate the help, but I think we can handle the truth."

The man sighed. "I assume the reason he was after you two because of your isolation and your partial mastery of ki. He wanted you for his plans of wiping out humanity."

Lazuli felt a chill go down her spine. Her voice was shaky as she spoke. "If he'd succeeded...if you hadn't stopped him…what would have happened to us?" Lapis adopted a grim look, not liking where this conversation was going.

The man hesitated. "You would have been turned into cyborgs, and most likely programmed to destroy the human race," he finally answered.

"Holy shit," Lapis whispered. "Is that what he did to himself? Turned himself into a cyborg?"

The man nodded. "It was a patch job though. After I destroyed his lab, he realized someone was onto him and rushed the process just so he could acquire you two."

"Ok, what a freak," Lazuli couldn't help but comment. "That means he's been stalking us for God knows how long."

The man looked sheepish. "Sorry about before. I...was able to figure out who he was after when I destroyed his lab, and I wanted to make sure he didn't get to you."

Lapis shrugged. "I'm sure we could have handled it, but thanks I guess."

Lazuli rolled her eyes at her brother's blind confidence, before giving the man a small smile. "Thank you," she said. Looking a bit uncomfortable, he merely nodded.

"So what do we call you, friend?" Lapis asked cheerfully.

The man hesitated. He seemed to need to think for a moment before answering, which didn't escape their notice. Did he not want them to know his name?

"Trunks," the man answered finally.

* * *

A/N: I can't believe I just started another fanfiction. But screw it, I couldn't get this idea out of my head. I hope you enjoyed this so far.


	2. Awkward Silences

And we're back.

* * *

Chapter 2: Awkward Silences

"You know, you don't have to leave so soon," Lazuli said lightly, causing Trunks to blink in surprise. "I mean, you could stay awhile. We _do_ owe you one."

Trunks flushed slightly, a reaction which she found to be strange and slightly amusing. For a renegade cyborg slayer with better ki mastery than both her and her brother combined, he sure did get flustered easily, she had noticed.

"That's ok. I really should be leaving soon," he insisted.

She raised an eyebrow, wondering why he seemed so uncomfortable. Was he this stiff around everyone?

"Oh, come on. At least stay for breakfast before you go off thwarting some other apocalyptic scheme," Lapis spoke up from where he was getting out supplies.

Lazuli crossed her arms. "What he said. We don't get a lot of visitors out here, and all things considered, you're not bad company. So deal."

Trunks looked down, embarrassed, before offering a small, tentative smile. "Well, I suppose I should stay a bit longer...just to make sure there aren't any more coming."

Lazuli studied him closely. "You mean...there could be more? Like, other creations of his?"

Trunks nodded slowly, privately thinking that she caught on pretty quickly. "I like to think that I'd be able to sense them if there were. But prior experience tells me otherwise."

She regarded him, puzzled. "Sense?" she repeated.

"Well, yeah. Since his own design wasn't complete, I could sense his ki. But most cyborgs have artificial ki, which can't be detected by my senses."

Her brows were furrowed. "Can you teach us how to do that? Sense ki, I mean?"

He blinked. "I suppose so. What _can_ you guys do with it so far?"

Lapis answered this time. "Admittedly not as much as you. We can project energy waves and use it to strengthen our bodies, but that's about it."

"Hmm, so you can't fly yet either…" Trunks said, thinking out loud.

Their eyes widened simultaneously. "Fly?" Lapis repeated, his eyes shining with anticipation. "You mean you could teach us how to fly like that creepy old dirtbag?"

"Well, yeah. It's pretty basic actually. You just project some ki from your body and use it to propel you in any given direction," Trunks replied.

"Wow. We never even thought of using it that way," Lazuli admitted. "How'd you learn all this, anyway? Did you learn on your own, or did someone else teach you?"

Trunks visibly recoiled, alarming the two, but he quickly recovered. "I...my mentor taught me," he said reluctantly.

"Oh," Lazuli replied quietly. She felt as if she had just overstepped some boundary. "Are you ok?"

"Uh, yeah...I'm fine," Trunks said, but it was clearly a lie. His face was angled the other way, looking anywhere but at her, as if it pained him to do so, which caused her to frown a bit. A couple minutes passed before Lapis' voice broke the awkward silence.

"Breakfast is ready," he announced.

As the three quietly ate, Lazuli observed their guest. He was eating slowly, almost carefully, as if the food would all disappear if he ate too fast. Little did she know that he was resisting the urge to shovel it all down at once, and to say it could all disappear rather quickly was an accurate assessment should he fail.

"So, do you hunt cyborgs for a living?" Lapis quipped, causing Trunks to start choking. Lazuli shot her brother a glare, which he shrugged off as Trunks finally swallowed his food.

"That wasn't funny," Lazuli said, a hint of warning in her voice.

"Sorry," Lapis said. "It's just he did it with ease of practice. It's like he knew exactly what he was doing. Look, he even carries a sword around with him."

Although rather uncomfortable with the topic of their discussion, Trunks knew that he was acting rather strange at this point, so he answered.

"You could say that," he replied. "Although that would imply that I'm usually successful," he said with a grimace. "It might be more accurate to say that they hunt me."

It took a moment for the two to realize that he wasn't joking. When they did, they shared an uneasy look. "But...you handled that guy so easily. Like he wasn't even worth your time," Lapis objected.

Trunks was silent for a moment. "I've...you could say I've been on the receiving end of the same treatment," he said, fists clenched as he stared down at his empty plate.

Lazuli didn't like where this was going, and she gave her brother a warning glare to back off, which he actually took seriously for once. They fell into another awkward silence until everyone finally cleaned their plates.

"Thank you for breakfast. It was delicious," their visitor said, causing Lazuli to smirk slightly. The guy was polite, if perhaps a bit too formal.

"Hey, anytime," Lapis said. "Least we could do after you pulled our asses out of the fire."

There was another moment of silence before Trunks spoke up again. "Do you guys still want to learn how to fly?" he asked suddenly.

The two twins exchanged excited looks.

* * *

On the other side of the planet, a black haired warrior donned in an orange gi sat in the garden of Capsule Corporation, staring off over the horizon with a puzzled frown on his face as Dr. Briefs, the father of one of his closest friends, walked up to him.

"Everything alright there, Goku? I know you're worried about everyone on Namek, but the ship is almost finished. You should be able to leave tomorrow at the latest.

"It's not that, Dr. Briefs," the saiyan replied. "A little while ago, I felt two powerful fighters clashing somewhere on the planet, before the weaker of the two kis disappeared completely. I'm trying to figure out who it could be. I've never sensed them before."

"I see. How powerful would you say these two were?"

Goku crossed his arms in thought. "Well, one of them, the one that disappeared, was weaker than me. The other one...not so much."

Dr. Briefs looked shocked. "You're saying this other warrior is stronger than you are?"

"Stronger than Vegeta and myself combined," Goku confirmed, still frowning. "Thing is, even though I'm fairly sure whoever it was killed the other guy, the ki doesn't seem malicious at all. In fact, it actually feels like I can trust this guy. Weird."

"Well, if you're sure of that, you can always go investigate the source while I finish up the ship," Dr. Briefs suggested.

Goku stood up. "I think I might just do that. The curiosity is really getting to me. See you later, Doc!" With that, he flew off, disappearing from sight within seconds.

* * *

"You're still using too much energy. It's not like firing ki blasts. If you do it that way, not only will you waste a lot of ki, but your flight will be uncontrolled," Trunks instructed. "It should be just enough to support your weight, but evenly distributed underneath you. We'll worry about increasing your speed later."

As Lapis tumbled onto the dirt again, he grunted. "This is harder than I thought it would be." While he had made some progress since his first attempt, he still couldn't control his flight for more than a few seconds. While he hadn't stopped trying, Lazuli had instead opted to stay on the ground as she tried to get a feel for the right ki output to keep her airborne. She closed her eyes as she felt it radiate from her, causing a small wind pick up around her. Slowly, her form rose unsteadily through the air until she stopped about 5 feet off the ground. She held herself up for about ten seconds before she let go and landed, a satisfied smirk on her face. Lapis scoffed and grumbled something about beginner's luck, completely disregarding the fact that he was one too.

"Not bad," Trunks said. "It helps that you can already manipulate ki. Keep practicing and it should get easier pretty quickly…" he trailed off as his brow furrowed and he turned his head off to the horizon, catching the attention of the two twins. The last time he had behaved this way, it hadn't been good news. Could there really be more killer cyborgs out for revenge?

They gasped as they saw a figure shooting towards them out of the sky. As it drew closer, they heard the unmistakable sound of the sound barrier breaking, before the figure came to a sudden stop in front of them, causing the twins to cover their eyes from the wind that picked up in the clearing. It was a rather tall man with black, spiky hair, dressed in a slightly ridiculous orange outfit. He was staring at Trunks curiously, who in turn stared back in awe, knowing that this could only really be one person.

"Son Goku…"

* * *

A/N: I'll bet you're wondering where I'm going with this. That's ok...so am I.


	3. Hatred's Logic

Happy new year everyone. Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 3: Hatred's Logic

"Son Goku…" Trunks whispered, in awe of the man that now stood before him. All his life, he'd been told stories, but to finally see him in person...containing his excitement alone was a lesson in restraint.

"You know him?" Lazuli asked, staring at the newcomer in curiosity. Her question snapped Trunks out of his daze.

"Not exactly. I know of him," he replied.

"Hey, I think I recognize that name," Lapis said. "Yeah, from the World Martial Arts Tournament. Isn't Son Goku the current champion?"

Lazuli rolled her eyes. "I forgot you used to follow that crap. So what's he doing here?"

"Hey there!" Goku greeted, still looking at Trunks with a wide smile. "I felt a really high power over here. That was you right?"

"Um...yes, I suppose it was," Trunks answered.

"Wow, and at your age," Goku said. "And here I thought I'd seen it all. I guess there's always someone stronger. But who was that other guy whose ki disappeared?"

Trunks stiffened. He hadn't expected this. He'd just assumed that everyone would already be on Namek by now, including Goku. Now he might potentially have to explain himself in advance, and he wasn't sure what changes that could make to the timeline.

Sighing in resignation, he began to explain. "That was Dr. Gero, a scientist from the Red Ribbon Army."

Goku's eyes widened. "The Red Ribbon Army? I thought they were done for."

"They were, for the most part. But their head scientist survived, and he held one hell of a grudge. I know you were just a kid back then Goku, but you let a very dangerous man walk away. The creations he could have unleashed given time would have laid waste to this world, and you would have been powerless to stop them."

Goku frowned. "Well, at least you stopped him then. But who are you? I've never felt a power even close to yours before."

Trunks smiled. "I'm just a friendly earthling helping out," he replied, causing Goku's eyes to widen at the hidden message.

 _This guy knows I'm not from earth,_ Goku thought in wonder.

Lapis and Lazuli, who were both listening intently to the conversation, raised their eyebrows at the oddly phrased statement. The two continue to stare each other down. There was no hostility, but _something_ seemed to pass between the two. After a moment, Goku smiled.

"I assume we'll meet again?" he asked.

"Without a doubt," Trunks replied.

Goku nodded and rose into the air again. "I don't suppose you know what I'll be up against," he said, taking a shot in the dark. In response, Trunks rose his ki to its maximum without transforming, causing beads of sweat to roll down the full blooded saiyan's face. "Well that should be fun," he said with a nervous smile, before flying off.

When he was out of sight, the two twins turned back to Trunks. "What was all that about?" Lapis asked.

Trunks was silent for a moment. "Remember those two aliens who landed in East City last month?"

"Yeah. You're saying he was one of them?" Lazuli asked.

"No, but he is the one who stopped them."

"Wait, so that guy stopped the Red Ribbon army when he was a kid, won the World Martial Arts tournament, and then stopped an alien invasion just last month?" Lapis asked skeptically.

Trunks smiled wryly. "You could say he has a track record of being right where the action is."

"And you know this how?" Lazuli asked. "Just who are you, anyway?"

Trunks' eyes grew sad and distant. "Just a fan of his, I suppose. For all intents and purposes, I'm nobody."

Lazuli frowned at the answer, not wholly because of its ambiguity, but also because of the lack of self esteem behind it. She decided not to push him for answers at the moment, but she fully intended to break past that wall he'd built around himself.

* * *

It had been nearly a week since Trunks felt Goku's ki, which he had begun tracking, leave the planet. He didn't know how or why, but suffice to say somehow, and for some reason, he had ended up spending that entire week in the company of the two people who had been his sworn enemies for years. Logically, he knew he had no reason to hold anything against them. In his world, they were monsters. But they were monsters of a design other than their own. Their monstrous ways weren't learned, or even enacted by their own free will. Their monstrosity was instilled, and in this world, it had yet to be. No, hating them wasn't logical.

But hatred followed no logic but it's own.

Because those eyes, the same ones that would stare at him in amusement, as if he were a bug convincing himself that he might not be squashed, the same eyes which stared into the depths of his nightmares, mocking him for even _trying_ , for daring to think that he could save anyone, especially _him_ , and oh God, they killed him, _they killed Gohan_ —

Trunks took a deep breath and pulled himself back from that rainy night four years ago. He needed to get a grip on his emotions. Lapis and Lazuli were beginning to freak out. Especially Lazuli. He couldn't really blame her. He could tell the way he'd been acting around them since day one was slowly becoming upsetting for the blonde. And yet she still seemed to want him to stick around.

Why was he still here to begin with? Officially it was to teach them ki control, but they all knew that in reality that wasn't the reason. He supposed the two might still feel indebted to him. Which they shouldn't. As emotionless as it sounded, he hadn't done what he had for them, but for the world, something which he was pretty sure they had yet to realize. But why was _he_ staying? It wasn't just so that he could watch out for more androids. He was sure no others had been built—he'd thoroughly checked the ruins of the lab after Gero had initially escaped, and even destroyed the underground bunker.

It was then that he realized. It was them. Lapis and Lazuli, in another world known as Cyborgs 17 and 18. It fascinated him, in the most dark and morbid of ways, how these two unassuming teenagers, who, ki mastery notwithstanding, were so _normal_ , could become the two demons that had terrorized the world for 20 years. How could these two kill billions in another timeline, and then in this one, look at him with eyes filled not with malice, not with mockery, but with concern?

He hated that disparity. It tore everything he thought he knew to shreds, and he hated that. But what really rendered him powerless?

It was that he couldn't bring himself to hate _them_.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the trailer door opening, and a familiar ki making its way towards him.

"Trunks?"

He turned around and saw those same concern filled eyes. He swallowed his hesitation and let out a meek, "Good morning," which was quietly returned.

Having had enough of the awkward silence, he decided to attempt a conversation. "You're up earlier than usual," he stated.

Lazuli nodded slowly. "Your ki was fluctuating wildly," she said in response.

Trunks inwardly sighed. That usually happened when he thought about the past, but seeing as he was the only ki sensitive left on earth in his time, he wouldn't normally have to worry about it. It just went to show what vast strides Lazuli had been making in her ki sensing during the past week.

"Sorry I woke you," he replied.

She shook her head. "Don't be. I'm just worried about you."

Trunks was silent for a moment. "Don't be," he finally parroted, but she persisted.

"You're clearly stressed about something. You have been since we met you. Is there something you're not telling us? Is there something else coming?" She paused. "Or...is it us?"

Trunks stiffened. "What do you mean?" he asked, despite knowing.

"Sometimes you act like you have something against us. My brother and I."

He did not want to have this conversation. "It's...not you," he said. "I guess I'm just not a people person." He knew the excuse was flimsy even before she let out a small sigh.

"I wish you'd stop lying to us Trunks," she said, slightly annoyed. "Whatever it is we did, just tell us so we can move passed it."

Trunks clenched his teeth, and the question was out before he could filter it. "What if I can't move passed it?" he asked, and immediately regretted it when he saw the hurt on her face before her expression hardened.

"Then...then I don't know," she said in a shaky voice. "But at least have the decency to tell me what it is!"

"I can't‚" he said solemnly.

"That's not fair," she said. "You can't just come in and become a part of our lives only to hold this over our heads!"

"You're the one who asked me to stay!" Trunks defended.

"Yes, because you saved our lives! Why would you do that for us if you had something against us?"

"I never said I did it for you. You came to that conclusion on your own," he said.

She clenched her fists and shouted, "If that's how you feel then why are you still here!? You can leave at any time!"

The clearing was silent after that as Trunks blinked in surprise, before his eyes narrowed. He turned around and rose into the air, ignoring the small intake of breath he heard from behind him, before rocketing out of the clearing and out toward the horizon.

* * *

A/N: Well that was angsty. Not sure how that happened.


	4. Paths Cross

Hey all. I'm back with another chapter. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 4: Paths Cross

Lapis sighed as he walked over to his uncharacteristically silent sister. It had only been a day since Trunks left, and she wasn't taking it well. Lapis would have been amazed with how quickly she'd grown attached to him if he wasn't so annoyed with the guy for leaving his sister so somber.

Which wasn't really fair. After all, he had only ever really been a guest. It's not as if he'd convinced them he was going to stay for an extended period of time, but Lazuli nevertheless had been clinging ever so faintly to the hope that he would, and he couldn't help but find it insensitive that Trunks hadn't taken that into account when he'd just gone and left.

Of course, that was without considering the fact that he would occasionally give them the cold shoulder even when he was here, and Lapis _still_ couldn't figure out what that had been about.

God, he was so not cut out for this. Why couldn't things just be simple? He preferred living in a trailer for a reason, and it surely wasn't so he could get invested in all this drama.

But Lazuli was still his _sister,_ and if it would take a change of scenery to take her mind off of things, then they'd be getting a change of scenery.

Besides, he thought with a smirk, they weren't as _stationary_ as they had been just a week ago.

"Look alive, Sis!" he shouted, getting his sister's attention, and interrupting her brooding in the process. "We're flying this coup! Literally!"

Lazuli merely raised an eyebrow in a silent request for elaboration.

"Oh, don't give me that look. You know as well as I do that you we both need to move on from this dump. We've been in one place for too long, and it's getting cramped in this clearing. So effective immediately, we're moving to West City!"

She stared at him with incredulity. "You've got to be kidding. How would we even get there?"

"Weren't you listening? I said we're flying this coup! Literally! _Literally_ literally."

She rolled her eyes. "Point taken. But we still can't afford to live in the city."

"I'll get a job."

She turned him skeptically. He sighed.

"Ok, so it's not a _job_ job. Take a look for yourself." He held up a flier for her to see.

"The return of the World Martial Arts Tournament. Takes place the day after New Year." She looked at him in a mix of amusement and exasperation. "He taught us ki control so we could defend ourselves, and you want to abuse that training to win some prize money?"

"Pretty much. You should enter too."

Lazuli continued to stare for a lengthy moment. But slowly, a small grin began to spread out across her face. "We're actually doing this," she stated, though it was more of a question.

"Damn right!" Lapis smirked.

Lazuli couldn't help it. She laughed. "Ok, but why West City? East City is closer."

Lapis' smirk deepened. "Oh, just a feeling," he replied as he capsulated the trailer.

* * *

"Well, here we are...halfway around the world," Lazuli said with a weary sigh, as they touched down on the outskirts of West City where no one could see them. It had taken them hours to reach West City even by flight, and to say they were now tired from the exertion was an understatement. "So what was it that you wanted to show me? I would have thought you would have wanted to see where those aliens landed in East City. I never took you for a Capsule Corp fan."

"If you'd been practicing your ki sensing like I have, you'd know by now," Lapis responded.

Lazuli frowned and reached out with her senses. Her eyes widened. "That's…they're…!"

"Pretty amazing, right? They're not nearly as strong as Trunks, but they're still pretty noteworthy. And there's quite a few of them."

"All centered around Capsule Corp," Lazuli confirmed, still frowning. "I wonder where they all came from. I'm sure none of them were here when we were learning to sense ki."

"Maybe they're aliens too?" Lapis joked. "We've already been invaded once."

Lazuli shook her head. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Those guys are a hell of a lot stronger than we are."

"Oh come on, Sis! Where's your sense of adventure?"

"About a thousand miles back over the Atlantic."

"Touche. Now come on, if we move quickly, no one will spot us and wonder why there are two teenagers flying over West City." He lifted off the ground.

Lazuli simply sighed, resigned to her brother's antics, and followed after him.

* * *

Piccolo Jr, the son of the Demon King Piccolo, the second half of Earth's Guardian, and the last Namekian warrior...was confused.

He'd had a rather long day. From being wished onto Namek, to fusing with the Namekian warrior Nail, to fighting Freeza in his second form, to getting thoroughly trashed by his third and fourth forms consecutively, to nearly dying, and then being wished _off_ of Namek, only to arrive back on Earth and finding out that Son Goku had died _again_ …

Come to think of it, had all this really taken place in one day? It was hard to tell on a planet with three suns.

But needless to say, he was getting rather tired and just wanted this giant shitfest to be over. So when he'd felt two higher than average power levels approaching West City, he couldn't hold in an annoyed grunt, one that Gohan had easily taken notice of.

But now that he focused on them, there was something strange about those two kis. Although they felt about as strong as Freeza's common thugs, their kis didn't feel malicious at all...in fact, they felt like regular humans. But that didn't seem possible. Any human with a noticeable power level on earth was either dead or accounted for. And he knew every single one.

Until now.

He was sure he didn't recognize these kis. So how could they have gone unnoticed by him up until this point? He'd only been gone for about a month.

Would this day ever end?

"Gohan," he spoke, drawing the attention of the young demi-saiyan beside him. "Expect some company."

When he noticed the stiffening of the boy's posture (and wasn't that a disturbing reaction for a five year old, he thought guiltily), he was quick to assure him. "Don't worry. They're not hostile."

Gohan relaxed. To be fair, his day has been even longer than Piccolo's own. Just another thing to add to his list of things he needed to make up for to the kid.

"Who are they," Gohan asked, pure curiosity coloring his voice now that he knew there was no threat.

"I'm not sure…" Piccolo said with a frown. "But we're about to find out."

As if in response to those words, two figures shot out of the sky, far too fast for normal eyes to keep track of, but easy for Piccolo and Gohan's trained senses to follow. They were too teenagers, one with raven black hair and the other with platinum blonde. They both had the same piercing blue eyes.

"Whoo, made it!" one, the male, said. "And I don't think anyone saw us."

"I wouldn't go that far," the other stated, as she stared worriedly at Piccolo, drawing the attention of the first towards the Namekian

"Whoa!" the teenager exclaimed. "Are you an alien?"

This caused the female to groan. When Piccolo didn't answer and simply continued observing the two, the first teenager deflated.

"Strong silent type, huh? Well, that's fine. Though I do wonder why there's a green slug man at Capsule Corp—"

"Identify yourselves," said green slug man interrupted, narrowing his eyes.

Lapis rubbed the back of his head. "Not much of a conversationalist, are you? Fine. My name is Lapis. This is my sister, Lazuli." Suddenly, he adopted a mock serious expression, holding his palms up in front of him. "We come in peace."

The joke either went over the alien's head, or was simply ignored. Judging from the nearly imperceptible tensing of his posture, as if he was annoyed, Lazuli would bet on the latter.

"Well, not that that's not great and all," said the young boy beside him. "But I think what he meant was...why exactly are you here?"

 _Good question,_ Lazuli thought.

"Good question!" Lapis said. "We were planning on moving into West City when we felt some really strong kis nearby and thought, why not introduce ourselves?"

Although Piccolo didn't seem satisfied with the explanation in the slightest, Gohan merely plastered on a friendly smile. "Oh! That's fine then. My name is Son Gohan! And this is my mentor—"

"Jr," the Namekian interrupted. "The name's Jr."

Gohan chuckled. "Right."

Neither Lapis nor Lazuli believed that for a second, but decided not to question it. Instead, Lazuli gained a thoughtful look as she stared at the boy.

"Son Gohan…" she repeated. "Hey Lapis, doesn't he look kind of like…? You know…"

Lapis' eyes widened. "Hey, you're right. Same last name, too. Hey kid, you wouldn't happen to be related to Son Goku, would you?"

Gohan's eyes gained an excited gleam. "You know my Dad?" he asked in an eager tone that made Lazuli smile lightly.

"Well, not personally. I suppose I did meet him once, but really I'm just a martial arts enthusiast who was a fan of his back in the day," Lapis replied.

Piccolo's eyes were narrowed even more now. "And when exactly did you meet him?" he asked.

It was close to a demand, but Lapis didn't seem to be bothered by the interrogation. "Oh, about a week ago. I think he sensed us training and came to investigate. It's easy to find above average kis if you focus hard enough. That's how I found you guys, after all."

Piccolo nodded thoughtfully, finally accepting the explanation. It must have been right before he left for Namek. That still didn't explain their rapid rate of growth, though. It didn't seem possible that they'd achieved it on their own. Perhaps someone had trained them? But who?

He didn't have time to put any more thought into it though, as Gohan had gotten rather excited at the prospect of meeting "friends of his Dad." He could only shake his head at the boy's lingering innocence as he led them into the compound, claiming he had to introduce them to Bulma.

"You mean we get to meet Bulma Briefs? What do you know, two celebrities in one week. Not bad, huh Sis?"

Lazuli couldn't quite keep the smile of her face. Lapis usually wasn't this optimistic, even if he was the more easygoing of the two. Even if his antics were annoying, she felt slightly touched that he was doing it in an attempt to cheer her up.

The smile vanished from her face, however, when a cold chill ran up her spine. Freezing mid step, she suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of danger.

"Well, this is a surprise." The raspy voice that spoke up from behind her made her jump. She turned around to meet the sight of a man in standing with his arms crossed, dressed in some kind of armor. He had black, gravity defying hair and an arrogant smirk on his face.

"When I sensed those two intruders I assumed you and the boy would handle it. They were rather weak after all. Imagine my surprise when I see you leading them into our base of operations. Do I need to deal with this myself?"

As he finished speaking, Lazuli felt a spike of ki that made her blood run cold. It was easy to tell that it was originating from the man in front of them. And it felt horrifying. The only ki they had ever felt that was higher than it was that of Trunks, but his ki didn't feel this evil or malevolent. It suddenly occurred to her that they may have been in over their heads coming here. Judging from the sweat dripping down Lapis' face, he was likely coming to the same conclusion.

"They're not intruders," Gohan spoke up amidst the tension, though his voice betrayed the nervousness he felt. "We invited them in ourselves, so there's no need to get hostile, Vegeta. They're friends!" The boy glared defiantly as he spoke that last part.

The man dubbed Vegeta scoffed. "So now I have to deal with more of you pathetic weaklings? I swear, it's like they're breeding. Very well, this isn't exactly worth my time anyway." With that said, he turned around and started walking away.

Lazuli was breathing heavily. "Who…was that?" she asked between pants. "He looked like he was ready to kill us!"

Finally relaxing from the battle ready position he'd been in upon Vegeta's arrival, Piccolo turned to her with a grave look. "He was," he said simply.


End file.
